1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera control system and method for remotely controlling a camera suitable for use with video conference systems, camera monitoring systems and the like.
2. Related Background Art
The assignee of the present invention has proposed a system such as camera monitoring systems and video conference systems, by which a plurality of clients at remote sites not only can look at an image picked up by a video camera, but also can remotely controlled the image pickup direction, zoom magnification factor and the like of the video camera.
In such a camera control system, if a plurality of clients access the same video camera to control it, the controls by these clients cannot be processed at the same time. Therefore, a system has been proposed in which only one client is given a “camera control right” at a time.
In a camera control system incorporating the concept of “camera control right”, a client may advertently input a camera control command before an acquisition request for the camera control right is entered.